Literally years in the making, the City of Cohoes has embarked on a project to enhance one of its most significant historical areas and a major gateway to the City of Cohoes; The North Mohawk Street rehabilitation.

North Mohawk street and the Harmony Mills have helped to define Cohoes for many, many years. The water power provided by the Cohoes Falls allowed enterprising industrialist to capitalize on this power and participate in the birth of the industrial revolution. In addition to the direct economic and industrial impact of the Harmony Mills, another serendipitous occurrence took place; The Cohoes Mastodon was found.

With the coming of this major street renovation project special attention has been given to preserving and in fact enhancing the historic character of this corridor. A new Power Canal Park is being created, complete with interpretive signage. At the same time it has been in the back of everyoneâ€™s mind, will we encounter another significant finding?

Ralph Pascale, Director of Economic and Community Development added that, "While it is not a Mastodon itself, what has been found can shed light on the environment of not only the Mastodon, but of primitive beavers living in New York State during the Ice age."

To this end the City has mobilized a team including the New York State Museum, Clough Harbour and with the assistance of Rifenberg Construction (the contractors renovating North Mohawk Street), and in cooperation with the New York State Transportation Department, we will investigate this important find and see what additional light we can shed on the environment in which the Cohoes Mastodon once lived.